US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that the suspect had been taken into custody over the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after a massive manhunt.
Trump stated live on Fox & Friends Friday morning that he was “very confident” that police had apprehended the individual who is suspected of shooting Kirk two days earlier at a gathering on a Utah college campus.
Trump revealed that when “somebody very close” to the suspect alerted authorities, the breakthrough was made. He disclosed that the alleged gunman was convinced to turn himself in by a minister who was collaborating with a U.S. Marshal. The suspect’s father reportedly encouraged him to do so.
“Somebody very close to him turned him in,” Trump told Fox News in a live studio interview.
“The person was involved with law enforcement, but was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a US Marshal who was fantastic.
“They drove into the police headquarters, and he’s there now.”
He added, “We have the person that we think is the person we’re looking for.”
The President indicated that further information will be released later Friday, but he refrained from providing all the details prior to an official briefing by the FBI and Department of Justice.
The development comes as the nation still reels from the shocking murder of Kirk, a conservative luminary, whose sudden death has sparked mourning across right-wing circles.
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According to police, Kirk was shot in the neck by the shooter, who fired from a rooftop up to 200 yards (180 meters) away.
Vice President JD Vance and his spouse, Usha, were forced to postpone their intended trip to New York to attend the Ground Zero memorial. Rather, they accompanied Kirk’s bereaved family to Salt Lake City, where they transported his coffin back to Arizona via Air Force Two.
The suspect arrested in Charlie Kirk’s shooting who has been identified as Tyler Robinson is expected to be charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit, all of which are state charges.
Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, declared that his state would seek the death penalty in this case.
The US right-wing media was in a state of grief and anger, with contributors recounting the impact Kirk had on their lives, but Trump has urged supporters to respond peacefully.
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